A research study to be presented at the 2007 Annual Scientific Meeting of The Obesity Society, found that chewing gum before an afternoon snack helped reduce hunger, diminish cravings and promote fullness among individuals who limit their overall calorie intake. Calorie intake from snacks was significantly reduced by 25 calories. Overall, this study demonstrates the benefits of chewing gum and highlights the potential role of chewing gum in appetite control and weight management. Nutritionists say that even small changes in calories can have an impact in the long term. This research study supports the role of chewing gum as an easy, practical tool for weight management. SOURCE

I'd love to give out popcorn or raisins for Halloween but my boyfriend won’t let me. He says "they'll egg our house, that's what kids do". I wonder if he's speaking from experience. Anyhow, I don't believe the children in my neighborhood would do such a thing but I'd rather not waste my money on treats that'll end up in the trash.

 For Halloween this year I’ve decided to give out dark chocolate. Studies have shown that dark chocolate is packed with antioxidants. I repeat dark chocolate, not milk chocolate; in fact milk may interfere with the body’s absorption of antioxidants. As a little pointer; don't eat a dark chocolate candy bar with a glass of milk thinking you've done yourself a favor. Dark chocolate also has been known to lower blood pressure, not that children have high blood pressure.

To avoid eating more candy than you give out:

·         Try to find candy that you don’t love.

·         Don’t buy the candy too soon.

·         Open the bag only when the sun sets on Halloween.

·         Keep it in an inconvenient place like the garage or basement.

·         While giving out candy prepare yourself a healthy snack to munch on.

·         Don’t keep any candy for yourself. If there’s any left over leave it on the front step.

Last month I posted about  Jessica Seinfeld's Deceptively Delicious cookbook. The recipes in the book are designed to trick your kids into eating vegetables. Now thanks to Oprah.com and Jessica you can try some of these secret recipes for free.

CLICK THE FOLLOWING LINKS FOR THE RECIPES...

BREAKFAST:

Scrambled eggs with hidden cauliflower

Pancakes with sweet potato

MEALTIME:

Mac and cheese with butternut squash or cauliflower

Chicken nuggets with broccoli, spinach, sweet potato or beat

Italian meatloaf with carrot

Quesadillas with butternut squash

DESSERT:

Blueberry oatmeal bars with spinach

Chocolate cake with beats

Brownies with carrot and spinach

Enjoy these nutritious recipes!

Kate Harding, a freelance writer who blogs about fat-acceptance issues, put together a body mass index (BMI) photo project to visually show the difference between what we think of as overweight and obese people and who they actually are. The BMI Project aims to illustrate the measurement's limitations in order to address the stigma of its labels.

"A lot of people hear overweight and think 'fat person', where you look at these pictures of people in the overweight range and they look perfectly normal," Harding said. "Even the obese people look more like what most of us would think of as chubby."

The standard classifications for body mass index -- calculated as weight in kilograms divided by height in meters squared -- place a person with a BMI of 18 or lower as underweight, a BMI from 18.5 to 25 as optimal weight or normal, a BMI from 25 to 30 as overweight, a BMI over 30 as obese, and a BMI over 40 as morbidly obese. SOURCE

CLICK HERE to check out the BMI Project! This is a really interesting documentation! If you think about it a muscular male athlete may be considered obese in terms of BMI because of his weight. The athlete is obviously not obese but has lots of muscle mass.

I used this chili recipe from the Vegetarian Times and it was so good I have to share with all of you. Fall is the perfect season to enjoy a warm bowl of chili!

INGREDIENTS:

Serves 8

• 1 24-oz. jar medium tomato salsa
• 1 15.5-oz. can pinto beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 12-oz. pkg. crumbled soy “meat”
• 2 cups fresh or frozen corn kernels
• 1 1/2 cups frozen lima beans
• 1/4 cup chili powder, or to taste
• 1/2 tsp. hot pepper sauce, or to taste
• 1/4 tsp. ground black pepper
• 1 ripe avocado, diced, for garnish
• 1 cup chopped red onions, for garnish

DIRECTIONS:

1. Combine all ingredients except avocado and red onions in 4-qt. slow cooker or large pot.
2. Cover slow cooker, and cook on low 4 to 6 hours. Or place lid on pot, and bring chili to a boil over medium-high heat; reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer, covered, stirring occasionally, 1 1/2 to 2 hours. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
3. Spoon chili into bowls, and garnish each serving with diced avocados and chopped red onion.

SOURCE: Vegetarian Times